Bike safety took center stage last week as the Midland City Council passed the “vulnerable road user” ordinance.

And during a presentation by city officials, the council and Midlanders in attendance also got a look at the bike-lane projects created in the last four years and upcoming projects that have added, and are expected to add, miles to the routes available to cyclists across the city.

There are 46.4 miles of bike routes across the city, including 1.5 miles as “stand alone paths,” according to the presentation. That was before the development of a Trail Master Plan, adopted in 2015. The plan helped identify new hike-bike routes.

The city reports there are about 25 percent additional routes since 2014, including new bike shoulders added to 11 roadways for a total of 10.5 miles and a 1.8-mile hike-bike path. Projects highlighted in the officials’ presentation were at Beal Parkway in west Midland and Fairgrounds Road in east Midland. The Beal Parkway project extends a trail system connecting Beal Park, Doug Russell Aquatic Center and Lancaster Park. That is three continuous miles, according to the city.

The project at Fairgrounds Road includes construction of a hike-bike path around a quarter of Hogan Park. City officials reported plans are underway for the hike-bike trail to go around the entire park.

Lastly, the city identified another 3.5 miles in funded projects. That includes bike paths on Tradewinds Boulevard, Bluebird Lane, Anetta Drive and the Main Street project funded by a state grant (the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside -- TA Set-Aside -- Program).

Councilman John B. Love III said that the Permian Basin Metropolitan Planning Organization is working with officials in Midland and Odessa and with the University of Texas of the Permian Basin to create a bike route from Midland to Odessa.

Click through the slideshow above to see who will be considered a “vulnerable road user” under the ordinance.